Five key media tech trends from April

The media industry was in the consumer press spotlight again in April, as Sir Martin Sorrell resigned from WPP and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg took to the US congressional stand. We look at five of the key media tech trends from the month here.

Sorrell exits WPP

Sir Martin Sorrell resigned from his position as CEO of WPP in April, following a third party investigation into financial misconduct. FIPP CEO, James Hewes said: "Sorrell's tenure at WPP has spanned the transformation of our industry. Initially a huge supporter of the print industry, WPP led the 'dash for digital' that saw the rebalancing of the industry away from magazines and newspapers.”

Prior to Sorrell's departure, WPP looked to be facing wider issues. The company had seen its share price slump almost 40 per cent in the last year to its lowest point since 2013, as the CEO himself warned of increasing pressures from the likes of Amazon and Netflix. On the back of the company's latest quartyerly earnings report however, shares rocketed by 8%, with analysts pointing to possible asset sell-offs.

Advertising giant posts first-quarter revenue decline as its search for a new CEO continues https://t.co/3QuTnNX45Y

Zuckerberg speaks to Congress

Facebook’s bad publicity parade continued in April, as Mark Zuckerberg travelled to Washington to answer questions surrounding Cambridge Analytica and Russian interference in Western democracy. “Senator, we run ads” has already become a t-shirt slogan, as the CEO’s answer to Orrin Hatch’s question on how the platform is monetised highlighted the wider disconnect in understanding between modern technology platforms and traditional governments.

But behind the headlines, Facebook was busy topping analyst expectations for earnings, as the company reported quarterly per share profit of US$1.69, up from $1.04 a year earlier. Revenue rose nearly 50 per cent to $11.97 billion, while net income was up 63 per cent to nearly $5 billion compared with $3.06 billion a year ago. The discrepancy between public perception and advertiser behaviour may not come as a shock to many in the media industry, who have watched both Facebook and Google weather numerous storms of controversy in recent months to go from strength-to-strength from a business point of view.

GDPR becomes a reality

After months of increasing media attention, the reality of the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation finally became visible in April, with ‘stay in touch’ emails hitting consumer inboxes. Approved by EU Parliament in April 2016, the legislation becomes enforceable on Friday 25th May this year, and brands will need explicit opt-in permission to use consumer data, including the use of email addresses for marketing purposes.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal has heightened public awareness of privacy issues not only in Europe but around the world, with many experts arguing that traditional publishers could benefit from a renewed interest in quality content to attract users online.

Amazon unleashed

Amazon’s quarterly advertising sales surpassed US$2 billion for the first time in the first quarter of 2018, with analysts speculating that the tech giant is now in a position to take on the Facebook-Google duopoly. Amazon does not breakout ad sales in isolation in its earnings reports, but says that advertising provides the majority of its ‘other’ section. After adjusting for accounting changes, the £2bn (US$2.8bn) achieved in Q1 2018 equates to a 72 per cent increase from a year ago.

Chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky called the ad-sales business “a multibillion dollar programme and growing very quickly.” The company has been busy expanding its business of selling on-site space to merchants in recent months, with Martin Sorrell commenting last year that WPP had directed $200m of its clients’ ad budgets to Amazon in 2017 and predicting a further rise to $300m in 2018.

Tribeca Film Festival shows practical virtual reality looming closer

Reports from April’s Tribeca Film Festival in New York point towards tangible advancements in the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) this year. Analysing the use of virtual reality in the broadcast of live sporting events, Mitzi Reaugh, VP of development and strategy at virtual reality company Jaunt, showed off a picture of a 3D replica tennis match being projected onto a table and said that consumers would soon be able to project athletes onto a table (‘a Princess Leia thing’) and surround the projection with statistics.

It’s an interesting development in the field of virtual reality, which Business Insider quotes Reaugh as saying provides “a complementary experience to linear television, but also a unique experience.” As the lines between traditional publishing and broadcast become increasingly blurred online, it’s another emerging media tech trend for publishers to keep an eye on.

Departures, a magazine published by Meredith Corporation exclusively for American Express Platinum Card Members, has revealed a new print ad that animates organic light-emitting diode (OLED) taillights on a virtual Audi A8 when the page is opened for the first time or triggered by a remote control faux key fob. The interactive in-book experience is a brand first, according to Giulio Capua, vice president and publisher of Departures.

Serial startup creator Nancy Spearswas one of the first entrepreneurs to spot the potential of online video with the launch of genconnect (the forerunner of genconnectU) nearly a decade ago. She was also one of the first to realise the limitations of an advertising based model and pivot to a subscription based system.

When she presented at DIS 2017 Jennifer Brandel caused many of the media delegates present to look again at the process of how they make decisions in their newsrooms. Hearken, of which she is founder and CEO, offers a ‘listening first’ model supported by a technology platform that enables communities to have a much greater say in the stories that are created for them by publishers.

For a magazine brand that is published by the world's largest museum and research complex, Smithsonian magazine isn’t what one would expect. First published in 1970, the magazine is active across platforms, and focuses on live events to meet its audiences where they are, while being journalistically and editorially independent of its foundation.

Formerly known as the Reader's Digest Association, Trusted Media Brands is a multi-platform media company based in New York, that boasts a portfolio of high profile brands. Over the years it had developed a strong and loyal audience for its print products, yet knew it needed to innovate in digital to survive and prosper.

Meredith Corporation announced an agreement to sell the Fortune media brand for $150m cash to Fortune Media Group Holdings, wholly owned by Chatchaval Jiaravanon. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in 2018.